Door latch



March 22, 1966 F. J. MOORE 3,241,872

DOOR LATCH Filed Sept. 30, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 22, 1966 F. J. MOORE 3,241,872

DOOR LATCH Filed Sept. 30, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F I E. :5

INVFNTOR. FWMMC/EJ" mama United States Patent 9 3,241,872 DOOR LATCH Francis J. Moore, 4248 Drew Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. Filed Sept. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 312,372 Claims. (Cl. 292-224) This invention relates generally to a simplified door latch unit having as its latching element a simple lever arrangement shiftable into locking position by a cam constructed on one end thereof.

The various door locks presently available generally provide a retractable latch element. This retractable arrangement is, of course, expensive to manufacture and usually, due to its complexity, requires repair and replacement after being used for a short period of time.

Applicant, however, has provided a simple lever type latch arrangement wherein the latch element is oscillated in a vertical plane to provide the latching effect for a door. The lever arrangement supplied by applicant is operated by a unique camming structure on one end of the lever such that the door handle may be rotated in either direction and the camming surfaces will cause the lever to be oscillated accordingly.

In applicants simplified lever construction, it is only necessary to provide a pair of intersecting passages through a door, one directed through the edge thereof to receive the latching element and the other directed through the thickness of the door to receive the operating handle. The members of the latch assembly are then placed in their respective openings and the camming surfaces are engaged theretogether. This, of course, eliminates any adjustments and connections which are required when a retractable door latch mechanism is used.

It is, therefore, an object of applicants invention to provide a simple door latch assembly including a latch member comprising a lever unit which is mounted for vertical oscillation within the door andto further provide camming surfaces on the innermost end of the lever with cooperating camming surfaces on a rotatable handle element to engage the camming surfaces of the lever and shift the lever thereby. H a

I It is a further object of applicants invention to provide a door latch assembly wherein the door latching element is provided with a cam arrangement on one end thereof and wherein an operating handle is provided with a pair of driving cam surfaces to engage with-those cam surfaces on the lever to shift the lever when the operating handle is rotated in either direction.

It is a further object of applicants invention to provide a door latch element having a hollow cylindrical operating handle having an aperture cut through the side walls thereof to provide a pair of transversely spaced camming. surfaces and to provide a latching lever to be received into the camming opening of the hollow member such that the sides thereof will abut with the camming surfaces of the operating handle to oscillate the lever upon rotation of the handle.

It is still another object of applicants invention to pro vide a simple inexpensive door latch unit easily attached to a door and which will be extremely long lasting due to its simplified construction.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer tothe same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which-- FIG. 1 is a partial elevation showing the door latch mounted on a door;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the latch element in one position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the latch element in a second position;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is an elevation showing the latch retaining element.

In accordance with the accompanying drawings, to provide a simple unitary door latch mechanism designated 10 in its entirety I provide a single solid door latch element 11 best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and comprising an elongated lever member pivotally attached to a lever housing unit 12 by pivot pin 11a or the like intermediate the ends thereof. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the elongated latch element includes a latching end designated 11b and an actuation end designated 111C. The latching end 1112 extends outwardly from the side of a door, which in the drawings is designated A, such that it may be connectively captured within a stop element 13 mounted on a door stop or the like.

In the form shown the pivot pin 11a is arranged along the lever 11 to allow sufiicient vertical oscillation of the latching end 11b such that the same may securely hold a door in closed position. The latch housing unit 12 generally comprises a solid cylindrical member having a slot 12a formed partially therethrough and extending longitudinally therealong such that the lever 11 is free to oscillate vertically therein. The sides of the slot 12a, of course, prevent any horizontal shifting of the latch element 11. To mount the latch 11 and housing unit 12 in a door, it is only necessary to provide a cylindrical passage designated B through the door A from one edge thereof with a cooperating flange 37 attached to the door by screws 37a. Futher, in the form shown, the housing unit 12 is provided with a biasing means such as the spring 12b therein positioned on the lower surface of the slot 12a to abutwith and be received in a notch 11a in the lever 11 such that the lever 11 is normally urged upwardly into locking position thereby. The operative end of the lever is provided with a pair of downwardly extending converging sides 14 and 15, which as shall he explained are camming surfaces to meet in a downwardly extending boss 16.

In the form shown, an operating rotatable actuating element in the form of a hollow cylinder 20 is provided to pass through a passage C formed in the door A substantially parallel to pin 11a to extend on both sides thereof and is provided with an opening 21 intermediate the ends thereof to receive the camming surfaces 14, 15 of lever 11 and to abut with the same when the actuating element 20 is rotated. It is, of course, necessary to provide the rotary element 20 with a substantial recess in order that the boss 16 at the junction of the camming surfaces 14, 15 may be received therein as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The boss 16 limits the relative rotation of the element 20 to the lever 11 such that the camming surfaces will not slip therefrom.

The sides of the opening 21, designated 21a and 21b, respectively, are arranged to abut with and thus force upwardly against the camming surfaces 14, 15 respectively. In this manner, as the operating rotary latch element 20 is rotated one of the sides 2111 or 21b will abut with the adjacent camming surface 14 or 15 and urge the operating end 11c of the lever upwardly to force the protruding end 11b of the lever downwardly. By providing the latch retaining element 13 as shown in FIG. 6, it is then possible to slide the latch protruding end 1112 outwardly therefrom. To accomplish this the latch retaining element 13 is provided with a retaining recess 13a arranged substantially vertically therein with a second recess 13b extending angularly upward therefrom. In this manner, as the door is closed the latching end 11b of the latch element 11 abuts with the angularly arranged upper surface of recess 13!) designated 13c and is forced downwardly as the latch 11 moves inwardly into the latch retaining recess 1311. As the progress proceeds, the latch element 11b passes the acute corner 13d of the latch element 13 and the spring member 1212 urging constantly upwardly against the lever 11 forces the same into the vertical latch retaining recess 13a. Attachment means such as the screws 136 are provided to mount the latch retaining element against the door stop C.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the axis of the passage C is substantially below'the axis of the lever housing unit 12 such that the operative end 110 of the lever 11 may be arranged in a normal downward position such that the extending and latching end 11b thereof is arranged upwardly locating the same in the latch receiving recess of the door stop 13.

To provide lateral stability of the operating handle axis a pair of clamp elements designated 23, 24 are provided on either side of the door and are arranged with a central aperture 23a, 24a therethrough such that the operating handle may pivot and rotate therein.

In the form shown, as best illustrated in FIG. 2, a handle 25 is firmly attached to one end of the actuating element 20 and a second handle 26 is arranged to be removably attached to the other end of the element 20. The attachment is attained by providing a downwardly extending skirt 26a thereon fixedly attached to the clamp member 23 and having a screw element 26b provided therein. Although the screw element 26b could be simply forced into the material of the actuating element 20, in the form shown applicant has provided a unique mounting method for the handle 26 and attached clamp element 23 by providing a slot 20a extending longitudinally along one of the walls of the element 20 such that the screw 26b may be received longitudinally therein and providing a lock element 27 of substantially the same diameter as the internal diameter of the actuating element 20. The lock element 27 is provided with a threaded passage 27a therein such that the same may be tightened upon the screw element 26b and therefore locked against the internal diameter of the operating handle 20.

In order to lock the latch element 11, applicant has provided a simple pin element 30 receivable through a door to interfere with the latch movement. In the form shown a pin 30 having a head 31 and a body 32 is held in position on the door A by a retainer flange 36. The flange is attached to the door with a screw 36b and retains the pin by having a stop shoulder 36a, which will permit the body 32 to slide therein but which will abut with a larger diameter section 33 at the end of the body 32. The pin 30 is free to slide entirely through the door and passes through an aperture 35 through the lever housing 12 and into a receiver 34. The receiver has a central aperture 34a which will permit the pin 30 to be pushed from locking position by a member pushed therethrough. This latch being primarily designed for indoor use may not therefore be accidentally locked as by a small child.

In the form shown, clearance for the pin 30 is provided on the latch element 11 by providing an arcuate recess 11 thereon.

In operation of this door latch assembly, it is only necessary to provide two passages through a door, one through the edge thereof and the other slightly below the axis of the first and passing through the thickness of the door to intersect a portion of the first passage. The operating rotatable latch element 11 with'one handle 25 secured thereto is passed through the thickness of the door and the lever member 11 in its housing 12 is inserted into the passage through the edge of the door. By slightly rotating the handle member 25 the opening 21 will be presented to receive the camming surfaces 14, 15 of the lever 11 and allow the lever 11 and housing 12 to be inserted to its proper depth such that the attachment flange 37 may be screwed into the edge of the door. The other operating handle 26 is placed on the rotatable latch element by placing the locking block 27 within the inside thereof and aligning the locking screw 26b with the longitudinal slot 20a of the hollow actuating member 20 to allow the handle 26 to be pushed thereon. The locking pin assembly 30 may be included in the door by drilling another hole through the thickness thereof and inserting the pin 30 on its mounting flange 36 therein. The latch retaining element 13 is then mounted on the door stop and the unit is now in operative relation.

It is obvious that this construction allows the latch retaining unit to be placed on either side of a door, the results achieved thereby being the same.

It should be obvious that applicant has provided a simple door latch construction wherein the latching element comprises a unitary lever which is controlled by a camming arrangement provided on the operating handle of the unit and the entire structure being inexpensive and long-lasting.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportion of parts without departing from the scope of the invention, which generally stated consists in the subject matter set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A door latch mechanism including:

(a) means adapted to be mounted on a door for journaling a rotatable latch element;

(b) an elongated hollow rotatable actuating element journaled in said means and extending through a door having:

(1) a cam receiving opening intermediate the ends thereof to be arranged within the thickness of the door;

(2) gripping means on the ends thereof for turning the same;

(c) a lever element arranged generally normal to the axis of said rotatable actuating element and mounted for oscillation on an axis disposed generally parallel to the axis of said rotatable latch element, having:

(1) one end thereof adapted to interfit with a fixed latch element;

(2) a pair of camming surfaces on the other end thereof cooperatively associated with said cam receiving passage of the rotatable actuating element;

(d) said rotatable element and the adjacent camming surfaces of said lever element cooperating in a manner to produce oscillation of said lever when said rotatable latch element is rotated.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 and biasing means normally urging said lever element into latching position with the fixed latch element.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the lever element camming surfaces comprise a pair of converging portions having an abutment member arranged at the junction thereof to abut with the cooperating camming opening on the actuating element to maintain the same in operative association when the rotatable latch element is rotated.

4. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the cam receiving opening extends longitudinally along the rotatable actuating element such that the same may be used with various size doors when the lever element is mounted in the edge of a door.

5. A door latch mechanism including:

' (a) means adapted to be mounted on a door for journaling a rotatable actuating element;

(b) an elonagted hollow rotatable actuating element journaled in Said means adapted to extend through a door having gripping means on the end thereof for turning the same having:

(1) a central slot forming a pair of transversely spaced apart camming surfaces;

(0) an oscillating lever element mounted for oscillation on an axis disposed in generally parallel spaced relation to the axis of said rotatable element and having:

(1) one end thereof adapted to inte-rfit with a fixed latch element; and

(2) the other end thereof having a pair of cooperatively sloping camming surfaces for respectively engaging the surfaces of said rotatable element when the same is rotated; and

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 429,948 6/1890 Page 292-224 1,174,114 3/1916 Behrmann 2922l9 2,923,145 2/1960 Labrie 292124 X JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Examiner. 

1. A DOOR LATCH MECHANISM INCLUDING: (A) MEANS ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON A DOOR FOR JOURNALING A ROTATABLE LATCH ELEMENT; (B) AN ELONGATED HOLLOW ROTATABLE ACTUATING ELEMENT JOURNALED IN SAID MEANS AND EXTENDING THROUGH A DOOR HAVING: (1) A CAM RECEIVING OPENING INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF TO BE ARRANGED WITHIN THE THICKNESS OF THE DOOR; (2) GRIPPING MEANS ON THE ENDS THEREOF FOR TURNING THE SAME; (C) A LEVER ELEMENT ARRANGED GENERALLY NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF SAID ROTATABLE ACTUATING ELEMENT AND MOUNTED FOR OSCILLATION ON AN AXIS DISPOSED GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF SAID ROTATABLE LATCH ELEMENT, HAVING: (1) ONE END THEREOF ADAPTED TO INTERFIT WITH A FIXED LATCH ELEMENT; (2) A PAIR OF CAMMING SURFACES ON THE OTHER END THEREOF COOPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID CAM RECEIVING PASSAGE OF THE ROTATABLE ACTUATING ELEMENT; (D) SAID ROTATABLE ELEMENT AND THE ADJACENT CAMMING SURFACES OF SAID LEVER ELEMENT COOPERATING IN A MANNER TO PRODUCE OSCILLATION OF SAID LEVER WHEN SAID ROTATABLE LATCH ELEMENT IS ROTATED. 